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Art History Lectures

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Dreams & Enchantment:

The Fairy Tale World of Burgundian Art

Jan Arnolfini and His Wife.png
 
 

DREAMS & ENCHANTMENT: THE FAIRY TALE WORLD OF BURGUNDIAN ART

Presented by Linda Blair


Thursdays, February 15 & 29; March 7, 2024

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we will be rescheduling the second Linda Blair lecture to Thursday, February 29, at 7:30 p.m., and the third lecture to Thursday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m. Please let us know if you have any questions. We appreciate your patronage.

Art is a mirror held up to the society which birthed it, a whisper from long ago history. It is a code message sent to a timeless future: this is who we were; what we believed; what we valued.
— Linda Blair

Dreams and Enchantment is a three-week lecture series designed to transport us beyond upcoming elections, international challenges, and foreign tragedies to an otherworldly realm of noble knights, richly caparisoned steeds, and gleaming white castles—in short, to 15th century Burgundy, and the last glow—the brilliant culmination—of late medieval art.

 

The medieval centuries had run their course, upended by the rise of cities, growth of a merchant class, and technical advances in art. In Renaissance Italy, medieval art forms were forced to yield to the secularism and humanism of the rediscovered Classical world, whereas north of the Alps, the medieval dream lingered . . . and was brought to perfection. A perfection that took place in one of Europe’s loveliest and most historic cities, Bruges, itself worthy of viewing along with the art it produced.

 

The Duchy of Burgundy: a sliver of land running from Dijon northward to Bruges that fashioned all our reveries of the medieval knightly dream—courtly ritual, rich costuming, brilliant architecture, and, especially, art. The Dukes of Burgundy based their power not on armies, nor grand alliances, but on the persuasive power of brilliant role-playing in their magnificent courts and great art. Art that celebrates beauty and grace and the tensile strength of deep piety.

 

The series will concentrate on two artists in particular, Jan van Eyck and the Limbourg Brothers. Van Eyck was uniquely able to merge the natural world with the spiritual realm. His luminous paintings present a tangible, convincingly real, world, yet one that glows with holiness due to his injection of religious symbols. The Limbourg Brothers’ illuminated manuscripts provide intimate records of medieval life, its great lords and anonymous peasants, its grandeur and its lowly humor.



About Linda Blair:

Linda Blair has taught art history for many years, at the La Jolla Athenaeum and UC San Diego Osher; she was a docent at The Cloisters. She holds a BA from Mills College and an MA from USD. She is an active volunteer at UC San Diego, dedicated to raising scholarship funds.  

 

JOAN & IRWIN JACOBS
MUSIC ROOM
Athenaeum Music & Arts Library
1008 Wall Street
La Jolla, CA 92037

CLICK HERE FOR DIRECTIONS

LECTURES BEGIN AT 7:30 PM.
DOORS OPEN AT 7:00 PM.

INDIVIDUAL LECTURES:
$16 member / $21 nonmember

SERIES OF 3 LECTURES:
$42 member / $57 nonmember

Online ticket sales are subject to ticketing fees.

  • The lectures will be in person at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. There are no physical tickets for these events. Your name will be on an attendee list at the front door. Doors open at 7 p.m. Seating is first-come; first-served. Priority seating will be given to Donor level members and above. 

    These events will be presented in compliance with State of California and County of San Diego health regulations as applicable at the time of each concert. Masks optional. If you have a fever, cough, or flu-like symptoms, please stay home.

  • Masks optional. If you have a fever, cough, or flu-like symptoms, please stay home.

  • Payment must be received in order to reserve a spot at a lecture.

  • ALL SALES ARE FINAL. No refunds or exchanges. In the event of a cancellation for which there is no rescheduled date, a refund for this ticket may be issued at the option of the management.

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